Before I get to the play - off situation..which by the way consumed my entire night. I now know fully why Craig Button is no longer a General Manager in the NHL. Yesterday, Button's mock NHL draft was posted on tsn.ca. He had the Oiler taking Nugent - Hopkins number one to the Oilers. While I wouldn't take him top overall, I can see that being a distinct possibility. What floors me is that he didn't have Adam Larrson going until #6 to Ottawa. There is NO way this guy, who is big, strong and skilled, a potential Niklas Lidstrom falls that low....NO way...you can write that down.
Speaking of Junior Hockey, can you believe the Saskatoon Blades are now OUT of the play - off's. Last night the Blades lost 5 - 2 in Cranbrook to Kootenay as the Ice completed the sweep. While I thought the Ice winning was a possibility, a sweep was never in my mind. This will really hurt the Blades as not only did they not achieve their goal of at least a trip to the Memorial Cup; they mortgaged the future to get Brayden Schenn. This disappointement will linger in Saskatoon for a few years because there will be some down years for the Blades in the not to distant future.
NHL Play - off's kicked off last night on five fronts, and nothing really shocking about the results. Here are my observations:
* Surprised the Lightning never even scored a goal
* Nashville looked good, Anaheim may have issues with goaltending
* Washington looked less than over - powering in their OT win over the Rangers
* Vancouver looked very impressive in my opinion...if not for a good effort by Cory Crawford, that easily could have been a 5 - 0 or 6 - 0 game.
The big show continues on three fronts tonight, Buffalo is in Philadelphia, the Habs travel to Boston for Game One of a much anticipated series, and the all California battle kicks off in San Jose where the Sharks host the Kings.
See ya tomorrow...
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